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Biomedical subjects

M G Weiss

Publications and source records attributed to M G Weiss.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Parasitic diseases and psychiatric illness.

Distinguishing parasitic diseases from other infections and tropical medical disorders based on microbiological classification is a matter of convenience. Organic brain syndromes are associated with both protozoan and helminthic infections; side-effects of drugs commonly used to treat parasitoses may impair mood and cause anxiety, agitation or psychosis. Emotional states may in turn affect the experience of medical illness. Psychiatrically significant features of medical illness are determined both by pathophysiology and by the personal and social context in which they occur. Many factors affect mental health in the tropics where the synergy of infection, emotional strengths, vulnerabilities, social supports and stressors is critical. This review discusses parasitic diseases of psychiatric interest by virtue of their effects on thinking, mood and behaviour; and it distinguishes issues that apply mainly to indigenous populations and visitors to endemic areas. In some paradoxical instances the psychiatric influence of parasitic diseases does not require infection; the review concludes by considering the prime example, delusions of parasitosis, which is a primary psychiatric disorder.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

The Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC). Contribution to cross-cultural research methods from a study of leprosy and mental health.

The Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC) has been developed to elicit illness-related perceptions, beliefs, and practices in a cultural study of leprosy and mental health in Bombay. Leprosy is an especially appropriate disorder for studying the inter-relationship of culture, mental health and medical illness because of deeply rooted cultural meanings, the emotional burden, and underuse of effective therapy. Fifty per cent of 56 recently diagnosed leprosy out-patients, 37% of 19 controls with another stigmatised dermatological condition (vitiligo), but only 8% of 12 controls with a comparable non-stigmatised condition (tinea versicolor) met DSM-III-R criteria for an axis I depressive, anxiety or somatoform disorder. Belief in a humoral (traditional) cause of illness predicted better attendance at clinic.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Health, illness, and immigration. East Indians in the United States.

East Indian immigrants to the United States represent the diversity in religion, language, and culture that exists in India, so it is difficult to make unequivocal statements about their health beliefs and behaviors. Despite the diversity, an understanding of Ayurvedic humoral concepts of health and illness provides a key to some pervasive and persistent ideas and practices. India has a pluralistic medical system in which Western medicine, which is increasingly popular for some ailments, is one option among many. Even those who are familiar with the "Western" medical system in India may find American medicine alien.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1991

Cultural study of diarrhoeal illnesses in central Thailand and its practical implications.

A cultural study of diarrhoeal illness was conducted using the Explanatory Model Interview for Cultural Assessment (EMIC) to compare two socioeconomically distinct subdistricts of central Thailand and to determine the practical implications of illness-related perceptions, beliefs and practices. Subjects specified 12 terms for diarrhoeal illnesses that were grouped into four locally meaningful groups, namely, tong-sia, a non-specific term for diarrhoea, bid, associated with colicky abdominal pain, ahiwa, referring to severe illness, often cholera; and taae-tua, diarrhoea associated with milestones of growth and development. To compare pre-existing beliefs and practices with the experience of caretakers when actually confronted with an episode of illness, we inquired about each of the terms and about index cases in subsequent interviews over the course of a six-month surveillance period. Patterns of distress, perceived causes, and preferences for help seeking and treatment elicited by the EMIC identified cultural features of the four groups of diarrhoeal illness. Perceived causes of diarrhoea associated with sanitation, hygiene and infection, which most respondents considered preventable, were prominent explanations for three of the four categories, and the fourth was viewed as a normal feature of growth and development, rather than medical illness. We discuss these and other findings with reference to use of ORS and other issues related to the prevention and control of diarrhoeal illness, concluding with recommendations for public health policy and research.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1989

Genioglossal recruitment during acute hypoxia and hypercapnia in kittens.

We examined genioglossal and diaphragmatic EMG activities in one- and two-month-old anesthetized kittens during acute exposures to hypoxic (13% or 10% O2) and hyperoxic hypercapnic (8% CO2/50% O2/balanced N2) gas mixtures. Phasic genioglossal EMG activity, frequently characterized by a combined inspiratory-expiratory discharge pattern, was observed in 3 of 8 one-month-old vs. 7 of 7 two-month-old kittens during hypercapnia (Chi-square P less than 0.05). The percentage of kittens recruiting genioglossal activity during hypoxic exposures was similar at both ages (1 month, 75%; 2 month, 83%). Analysis of the breath-by-breath response during trials of hypoxia in which genioglossal recruitment was observed, however, revealed that the one-month-old kittens exhibited phasic genioglossal activity in only 40 +/- 27% of the stimulated breaths, compared to 63 +/- 26% for the two-month-old ones (P less than 0.05) at each level of hypoxia. In this regard, the genioglossal response to hypoxia in one-month-old kittens was frequently characterized by early and only transient recruitment (when diaphragmatic activity was at its peak), while genioglossal recruitment was more sustained in two-month-old animals. These data indicate that genioglossal activity in kittens is often recruited during exposures to hypercapnia and hypoxia, and suggest that such recruitment is more frequent with increasing postnatal age.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Cultural models of diarrheal illness: conceptual framework and review.

Health planning for diarrheal diseases must be responsive to both epidemiological patterns and local perceptions of health, illness and need. A conceptual framework that relates patterns of distress, explanatory models, help seeking and treatment practices to knowledge and use of oral rehydration therapy (ORT), dietary management, other specific treatments and health policy issues provides the basis for our review of research on diarrheal illness-related beliefs and practices. The ethnomedical model asserts that efforts to secure the compliance of target populations are likely to be inadequate without an alliance between health professionals and communities to identify and address mutually comprehensible objectives that are perceived locally as meaningful and relevant. An appreciation of local cultural models and the diversity of cultural contexts enables health professionals to (1) recognize the significance of local perceptions of diarrheal illness with respect to pertinent outcomes and perceived needs, (2) develop ways to introduce recommendations that communities will accept, and (3) make appropriate use of existing community resources representing local traditions. An agenda for needed research concludes the review.

Cholera↗
PubMed1988

Humoral concepts of mental illness in India.

Based on interviews with patients at three allopathic psychiatric clinics in Bombay, Bangalore and Varanasi, employing a preliminary version of the Explanatory Model Interview for Classification (EMIC) to elicit indigenous explanations of illness and patterns of prior help seeking, we discuss popular humoral theories of mental disorder. Even though most laypersons are unfamiliar with the content of the classical treatises of Ayurveda, the humoral traditions which they represent influence current perceptions. Case vignettes clarify the nature of the relationship between cultural, familial and personal factors that influence the experience of illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Traditional concepts of mental disorder among Indian psychiatric patients: preliminary report of work in progress.

In a medically pluralistic setting a range of health care providers offer not only different forms of treatment, but different ways of understanding illness. Even within a single tradition, these concepts evolve over time. Chapters in the classical texts of Ayurveda describe varieties of severe mental disorder (unmada) arising from a particular humoral imbalance (dosa) or arising in association with specific demons and deities (bhuta) that produce distinct character changes and symptom patterns. Patients currently presenting for treatment of mental disorder may describe their illness with reference to these concepts, but they also rely on other indigenous traditional concepts such as astrology, karma, the effects of other humoral relationships, such as semen loss and so forth; or they may rely on ideas derived from cosmopolitan medicine or both. Patients presenting to allopathic psychiatric centers in India were studied to determine whether patterns of help seeking could be predicted from the conceptual model by which they understood their illness. We elicited explanatory models from patients and obtained a history of prior consultations to other types of healer. Preliminary findings were notable for the pervasiveness of prior use of folk healers and the prominence of somatic symptoms among patients presenting to these allopathic physicians. Hypotheses regarding the impact of explanatory models on patterns of medical help seeking require further study from a larger and more diverse data base.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1985

The interrelationship of tropical disease and mental disorder: conceptual framework and literature review (Part I--Malaria).

Substantial interactions between tropical diseases and psychiatric illness have long been recognized, but the impact of biological factors in the field of cross-cultural psychiatry has been less well studied than psychosocial factors. In reviewing the literature at the intersection of tropical medicine and psychiatry in order to summarize the existing data base in this field, a generalized interactive model informed by the theoretical contributions of George Engel, the WHO Scientific Working Group on Social and Economic Research, Arthur Kleinman, P. M. Yap, Edward Sapir and others has been developed to serve as a conceptual framework for this analysis of the literature and to guide further research. The clinical literature of tropical medicine and psychiatry which recognizes the significance of concurrent tropical disease and mental disorders is reviewed along with the more specific literature on malaria and concomitant psychiatric illness. Many authors have focused on the role of organic mental disorders, especially in connection with cerebral malaria, but several have also addressed psychosocial parameters through which the interrelationship between malaria and a full range of mental disorders is also mediated. The effects of malaria may serve as biological, psychological or social stressors operating in a cultural context which precipitate or shape features of psychiatric symptomatology. Psychiatric illness may likewise precipitate an episode of malaria with typical symptoms in a patient with a previously subclinical infection. Implications of the literature and this generalized interactive model are considered as they apply to clinical practice, public health and the application of social science theory in medicine.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1985

Metacognitive components of visual search in children.

Two studies examined children's increasing ability to analyze tasks in terms of the perceptual features that affect task difficulty. Of particular interest was any understanding that perceptual confusions occur during the search for an object surrounded by objects similar in shape or color to that object. In Study 1, 32 pre-schoolers constructed arrays intended to make the search easy or difficult. They made the search difficult simply by putting many toys into the toy box. In a forced-choice situation, they indicated that task difficulty was influenced by the number of objects and the similarity in color and shape of the targets and the surrounding objects. Study 2 more thoroughly examined knowledge of color and shape confusions, using 96 children from Grades K, 1, 3, and 4, assigned to two age groups. The older children but not the younger ones showed a significant understanding of color and shape confusions. Both age groups understood that performance is affected by a person's interest level and degree of attention to the task. The results were discussed in terms of the accessibility of the children's knowledge under different conditions.

Attention↗
PubMed1983

Young children's understanding of displaced aggression.

According to previous research, young children do not understand displaced aggression. The present study examines the early phases of the understanding of the causes of moderately and extremely displaced aggression. Preschool and kindergarten children (3 to 5 years of age) viewed eight videotaped episodes of displaced aggression. Their comprehension of this aggression was assessed by means of open ended questions and forced choice picture selections. By age 5 most children had some understanding of displaced aggression, but this understanding was not complete. The early understanding revealed in the present study may be due to the use of short, simple, realistic videotaped episodes appropriate for the limited processing abilities of young children. Extreme displacement was not more difficult to understand than moderate displacement.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

"Dr. P. C. Sen Memorial Best Paper Presentation Award on rural health practice". Physical and mental community health: what are the obstacles!

The present work aims to study the cultural concepts of the health in general and mental health in particular from six villages of Sundarban region, West Bengal, India, by using field research methodology, viz, participants observation, focus group discussion and in depth interview. A qualitative data was collected from the field. Analysis of the data shows that there is a clear difference of conception among the people of the region according to their socio-economic status. Poor and non-educated segment stressed much more on the physical ability and lack of economic resources in relation to health, whereas educated and comparatively economically stable segment with some urban influence, stressed more on both physical and emotional stability as a measure of good health. The pattern of help seeking also reflects different preferences towards traditional and modern treatment facilities available in the region. Results on the study promoted to take intensive community awareness programme for effective health coverage of the population.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Community Psychiatry Clinics at Sundarban: a clinical and cultural experience.

A series of Community Psychiatric Clinics were conducted in different blocks of Sundarban region of West Bengal. One of the primary objectives of this was to collect clinical epidemiological data on psychiatric morbidity in the region. A total of 26 clinics were conducted in Sagar, Kakdwip, Canning and Gosaba block of the Sundarban region during the period from end 1998 to end 2000. A total of 451 psychiatric cases with diagnostic categories (male 239, female 212) and 215 non-psychiatric cases (male 107 and female 108) were seen in these clinics. Diagnostic Interview Schedules (SCID) and Clinical rating scales like Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scales were used to ascertain clinical diagnosis quantitatively. Special emphasis was given on common psychiatric disorders.

Community Mental Health Services↗